Outlook Cannot Expand the Folder – Best 5 Ways to Fix This Error

It is absolutely true that Outlook is a popular desktop-based email application that comes with several advanced features. However, it is also a sad part that Outlook users face many problems with it and hence users are unable to access their email data. In today’s blog, we are going to discuss one such problem Outlook cannot expand the folder. The set of folders cannot be opened. Here you will also learn why the folder cannot be expanded in Outlook. So let’s start step by step.

Here are some user queries addressed in this post:

Now let’s take a quick look at the reasons responsible for this error.

Why Does Outlook Say Cannot Expand Folder?

Solution 1. Make the Folder Visible

1. Right-click the unexpanded Outlook interface folder and select “Properties”.
2. On the Permissions tab, make sure the “Folder View permission” is assigned.
3. Otherwise, select Edit and make the necessary mappings. Click OK to save your settings.

Solution 2. Disable Cached Mode to Fix Outlook Cannot Expand the Folder Error

1. In your Outlook interface, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
2. In the Email section of the Account Settings screen, double-click the account causing the issue. The change account page is displayed.
3. Here, under the Offline Settings heading, uncheck “Use Cached Exchange Mode”.
4. Then click Next to continue and keep this setting.
5. After that restart your Microsoft Outlook application and try to expand the folder again.

Solution 3. Disable Microsoft Outlook Add-Ins

1. Firstly, click File > Info > Options in the Microsoft Outlook interface.
2. On the Outlook Options page, click Add-ins.
3. After that, click the Go button next to Manage > COM Add-ins on the right panel.
4. Then do not select any add-ins and click OK.

After completing the above steps, try to expand the affected folder again.

Solution 4. Repair MS Outlook Data File

If all the above solutions fail to fix Outlook cannot expand the folder error, there is a chance that your Outlook data file is corrupted. To fix this, you can use SCANPST.EXE but if the Outlook inbox repair tool not responding, then you should take the help of an expert-recommend tool. One such is Yota Outlook PST Conversion Tool which is capable enough to repair PST file without ScanPST and without Outlook installation.

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• Offers a full preview of Outlook data file items in multiple modes
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Solution 5. Make a New Profile in Outlook

1. From Control Panel, click the “Mail” option.
2. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click the “Show Profiles” button.
3. Click on the “Add” option to add a new profile. After giving your Outlook profile a name, click OK.
4. Select the “Always use this profile” option and select an account from the list to set this profile to your account.

Then restart your Outlook application and try to expand the folder of interest.

Final Thoughts

If you are also facing problems with Outlook cannot expand the folder then this post will discuss the possible reasons behind it. Here we have also covered the top 5 solutions to fix the cannot expand folder in Outlook. You can try any solution that will help you fix this error. To repair the damaged Outlook file, we have suggested the best tool which is compatible with all Windows OS platforms.